The Crusade for the Homeless Foundation works closely with community partners such as city and county housing authorities and homeless shelters to identify potential permanent supportive housing projects for the chronically homeless. Once a project has been identified, the Crusade will entertain a proposal for private seed money to assist in property acquisition, construction or rehabilitation.

In most public housing projects, public money is sought first through a variety of sources such as redevelopment agencies, state housing trust funds, federal tax credit programs and city/county HOME funds. In a significant departure from traditional funding model, permanent supportive housing projects for the chronically homeless in Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County are initiated using private sector seed money.

In two of the three chronically homeless housing projects in Utah (Sunrise Metro and Grace Mary Manor), the Crusade was joined by the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation to provide private seed money. In the third project (Palmer Court) the Crusade joined with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and the Eccles Foundation in providing seed money. With these three projects, private seed money totaling $11.9 million was able to leverage more than $45 million in total public/private investment. Assuming that the Crusade was the first private investor, additional private and public investment is leveraged by a factor of seven.

The state of Utah 10-year plan to end chronic homelessness has identified a requirement for 2,100 new or rehabilitated permanent supportive housing units. In 2008, the three projects funded total 385 units. This leaves a gap of 1,715 units that must be funded by 2014. To close this gap, the Crusade must provide substantially more seed money. The Crusade’s One Percent Campaign is designed to achieve a $100 million permanent endowment the annual earnings of which will provide $10 million per year in seed money, which will assure a permanent end to homelessness.